Ephesus: Part 2

Here are the remains of what used to be a library in Ephesus.


Reed thoroughly enjoyed himself as he took quite a few pictures of the remains of these old structures. It would have been pretty impressive to see it all back in the day.

A view of the library from the top of the hill.

All in all we had a great day. We found that February was a good time to go. It was beautiful, but not too hot and there weren't a ton of tourists.

Ephesus: Part 1

We toured the ruins of Ephesus. It was really cool to see all that remains and to think that the Apostle Paul was in this same place many years ago.

Reed and Asher inside the remains of a large theater.


A view from the top of the theater looking down. The acoustics were incredible in there. You could hear very plainly what someone was saying down at the bottom.

Asher took the opportunity to be center stage in the theater and do some running around.

It was such a beautiful day. It was really refreshing to not wear coats outside.

Izmir Trip

We really enjoyed our time in Izmir. It was refreshing to have warmer weather and at times we even went without our coats.

Asher and I in front of Konak Tower.

We loved walking along the Aegean Sea. It was beautiful and they had some really nice, SMOOTH walking paths. Our city is lacking in smooth walking areas, so we certainly notice and appreciate this!

I am taking a much needed rest as Reed is taking pictures of the sunset.

A beautiful view

Yes, we did let Asher out of his stroller on this trip. By the end of the week, he was tired of it and loved to run around when he could.

Istanbul Trip: Part 5

What would be a trip without indulging in some delicious food?

We ate at a great Mexican restaurant, El Toridos.


Asher enjoyed a little ice cream after his meal. The big huge Pepsi is Reed's pop, not Asher's!


We enjoyed some pizza from Pizza Hut. Unfortunately, I had a cold on this trip, so my taste buds weren't quite fully functioning. That was a little disappointing. Reed said the pizza tasted exactly like home. I still ate mine trying to imagine! :)


Not one of Reed's best photos of the trip. But this sums it up. A kleenex was never far from my face. It didn't stop me from having a great time though!

Istanbul Trip: Part 4

We toured the New Mosque as well.



The inner courtyard


A view from inside

Istanbul Trip: Part 3

We toured the inner courtyard of the Suleyman Mosque. Unfortunately, we couldn't go inside due to renovations.


A view from the wall surrounding the mosque.


Asher is loving it! We realized he had a pretty cushy ride on this trip: getting pushed around everywhere, being offered snacks and beverages every few hours. I think I would have liked that too!

Istanbul Trip: Part 2

We did tons of walking on our trip. One evening we walked along the water's edge of the Bosphorus. We ate supper overlooking the water and the city lights. A beautiful view.


We enjoyed a day at IKEA.


To our surprise it was attached to a nice, new mall. This may not have been Reed's favorite day of the trip. But he enjoyed sitting at Starbucks in the mall all afternoon as we walked around.

Istanbul Trip: Part 1

We just returned this week from a mini vacation to Istanbul and Izmir. We met a good friend of ours, Laura, who is living in the Ukraine right now. It was a blast to catch up with her and to enjoy the sights of the city together.

Laura and I in front of the Blue Mosque

Our family in front of the Hagia Safia.

Another shot of the Blue Mosque

We vistited an old underground cistern.

Laura and I in the cisterns. It was really cool down there. The calm music in the background and dim lighting put Asher right to sleep.

Just Like Daddy

Asher likes to imitate things that we do these days. So yesterday he sat for a few minutes "studying" his Turkish vocabulary like his daddy.